A-ROD

On July 27, 1975: Baseball player Alex Rodriguez (or A-Rod) was born in Washington Heights. After being drafted by the Seattle Mariners right out of high school, Rodriguez returned to our great City when he was traded to the Yankees in 2004. He is one of the most famous baseball players alive today, gaining prestige and notoriety for his exploits both on and off the diamond.

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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS OPENS FOR BUSINESS

On July 27, 1982: Musical The Little Shop of Horrors premiered off Broadway. The dark comedic production tells the story of a flower shop-boy and the carnivorous alien plant that he finds. Composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman were inspired by a 1960 low-budget film of the same name. The musical was a popular and critical success, running for five years and spawning multiple revivals as well as a film.

A LEAGUE OF OUR OWN

On July 27, 1959: The Continental League, a new baseball league, was announced at a press conference. Following the decampment of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants to the West Coast, NYC was left without a representative in the National League. After failed attempts to entice NL teams to the city, William Shea (of Shea stadium fame) spearheaded a campaign to create a third major league that would have teams for five major U.S. cities. Eventually, however, the American and National League caved under pressure and allowed themselves to be expanded, leading to the creation of the New York Mets and the implosion of the Continental League.